Warning: Spoilers for Blade #3!
As Marvel prepares to reboot Blade for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they have the opportunity to adapt one of his best new supporting players in the comics. Marvel has announced that there are plans in place for Blade to join the MCU by 2025. This will be the first time Blade will be on the big screen since the late 90s-mid 2000s Wesley Snipes trilogy, and the character deserves a strong supporting cast.
Blade #2 – by Bryan Hill, Elena Casagrande, Roberto Poggi, Jordie Bellaire, and VC’s Joe Sabino – introduces Tulip, Blade’s weapons dealer, ex-partner, and occasional friend with benefits.
Her subsequent appearance in Blade #3 – by Hill, Casagrande, and Valentina Pinti – puts her even more in the spotlight, making it clear why she should enter the MCU alongside Blade.
Tulip Is Perfect For The Next Generation Of The MCU
Blade has unknowingly unleashed the dangers of the Adana on the world, and turns to his weapons manufacturer, Tulip, for help. After getting re-acquainted in more ways than one, including saving her life from Lord Daido, Tulip begrudgingly walks Blade through the history of the one weapon that could kill Adana: Lucifer’s Lightbringer. As much as she’d rather leave Blade be and walk away, she’s prevented from doing so when the former brethren of Blade’s sidekick attacks. Tulip is no damsel, as she proceeds to shoot her way out, with Rotha’s approval. In just a few appearances, Tulip has proven herself as a badass.
In Blade (2023) #2 and #3, Tulip has proven to be as skilled as she is sharp-tongued. She’s a witty, funny, straightforward, and alluring character, who clearly has no ambitions of playing the hero – but she has what it takes to become one, if she so chooses. Judging by the fact that she may be stuck with Blade and Rotha, whether she likes it or not, Tulip’s hero journey is only just beginning. Speaking of Blade, her history and chemistry with Blade truly broaden her full potential as a character. Tulip has already proven that she knows what makes Blade tick, as well as how to put him in his place.
Marvel Has Just Scratched The Surface Of Tulip’s Potential
Blade and Tulip’s sexual and professional chemistry has been undeniable thus far, but there have been subtle hints that their dynamic could become more intimate. In Blade #3, for example, when Tulip finds herself in imminent danger, Blade pulls her out of the way by grabbing her hand. While the prospect of romance beyond just the physical hints at evolving their relationship further, it also puts Tulip in potential harm’s way, considering that Bryan Hill’s prequel comic series, Blade: First Bite, foreshadows Blade will experience a sacrifice. Specifically, death from someone else, since death is “too easy” for Blade, and the sacrifice that will bring him “great pain.”
Blade #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.
